Brassica oleracea var. gongylodes “Delicatess Violet”
Delicatess Violet kohlrabi, cabbage turnip, purple turnip cabbage: its purple bulb grows neither in the ground nor at the top of the plant, but right at ground level—it is a swollen stem, not a root. Hence its appearance as an object resting on the row, bristling with radiating leaf stalks.
Characteristics:
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Hazelnut flavor: delicate and mild, much appreciated by food lovers.
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Crunchy texture: juicy, perfect raw or cooked.
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Purple skin: highly decorative, contrasting with bright white flesh.
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Fast growth: allow 4 to 6 weeks between sowing and obtaining a transplant.
Sowing advice:
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Exposure: sunny.
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Soil: cool, loose, rich in organic matter, and well drained. Soil that stays cool is crucial: drought causes the bulb to become tough and split.
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Method: sow from March to August, in a nursery or directly in place, 1 cm deep. Stagger sowings to spread out the harvest. See how to sow your seeds.
Planting advice:
- Transplant at the 4- or 5-leaf stage, spacing plants 25 cm apart. Do not bury it: unlike other cabbages, the crown must remain at the surface, otherwise the bulb will not form.
Care advice:
- Water regularly and evenly. Mulch to retain moisture.
- Placing an insect-proof net over the plants as soon as they are planted prevents flea beetles and cabbage white butterflies without treatment.
Harvesting advice:
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Harvest young, when the bulb reaches the size of a tennis ball. This is decisive: if it grows larger, it becomes fibrous and woody, with no way to reverse it.
- Cut at ground level. The young leaves can be cooked like kale.
Beneficial combinations:
Benefits for biodiversity:
- Its short growing cycle makes it possible to fill an empty bed rather than leave the soil bare between two crops.
- If left to flower in its second year, it produces highly nectar-rich yellow clusters in spring.
Uses:
- Finely sliced or grated raw in salads—this is when its hazelnut flavor is best expressed—or steamed, baked in a gratin, or stir-fried in a wok. Peel the skin, which is somewhat tough.
Saving your own seeds:
As a biennial, it produces seeds in its second year: leave one plant in the ground over winter, then harvest the brown, dry seed pods. Be careful: Brassica oleracea varieties cross very easily with one another, so isolate your seed plant. See how to save your seeds.
Commitment to Quality: at SemiSauvage - Permaculture, we grow and select our seeds with respect for living things as our guiding principle. Based near the Auvergne Volcanoes, we choose open-pollinated, non-hybrid varieties, test them for germination rates, and carefully sort and package them without any chemical treatment. Our belief is that gardeners should regain the ability to resow, year after year, seeds that truly belong to them.
A fast-growing, crunchy, colorful vegetable, waiting to be rediscovered raw.
